Michael Flynn, highly-decorated retired lieutenant general and shortest lived National Security Advisor of all time, has brought himself into additional hot water with his recently shot down request for immunity before testifying about his connections to Russia. The outrage came from not only the clear presentation of guilt existent in the request but the clear hypocrisy of Flynn displayed as well.
In September 2016, which now feels like decades ago, Flynn stated in reference to Hillary Clinton that “When you are given immunity, that means you have probably committed a crime.” It is now about seven months later, and only two things about his statement are clear. First, Hillary Clinton did not commit a crime, and second, Flynn’s small bout of hypocrisy would show to be rather insignificant as compared to the rest of the administration’s run-ins with insincerity.
Just these three moments alone prove that.
1. Trump’s Thoughts on WikiLeaks
Way back in 2016, there was a short period of time where every morning a WikiLeak detailing personal or professional information about a person on Clinton's campaign was expected. Topics varied from political strategies to cooking recipes and even shady activities committed by the campaign. During that time, our president was a large fan of leaks, proclaiming, "I love WikiLeaks," much to the dismay of many people who saw Wikileaks as a threat to Americanism.
Now, as his White House is seemingly under attack of leaks coming from within, Trump has quite a different tune. He now recognizes the leaks as illegal, has made threats towards the perpetrators and is so desperate to find answers, he has even accused people no longer on staff as the offender.
2. Trump’s Thoughts on the Electoral College
After the 2012 Presidential Election, many had believed that though Obama had secured the electoral college, Romney was the winner of the popular vote. Though this was later proven to be untrue, this revelation made many very angry, especially our current commander-in-chief who immediately took to Twitter to explain how he was feeling. He called for it to be abolished, even asking his followers to go into the streets and protest.
In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump won the electoral college but not the popular vote, which was a-okay with him. He even went on to call the electoral college “genius,” an opinion ways away from his original position.
3. Trump’s Thoughts on Presidential Golf Breaks
When Barack Obama was president, he occasionally took a break from the demands constantly being tweeted at him by going to golf. Well, Donald J. Trump was furious about this, even going to Twitter about it 26 times during the tenure of Obama’s presidency.
In the 10 weeks since he took office, Donald Trump has gone golfing a whopping 13 times, often in his own Palm Beach estate Mar A Lago, which he once called “The Winter White House.”
Three may not be a large number, but the three bouts of hypocrisy represent something much larger. No matter how significant or insignificant the topic, Trump and his administration will find a way to flip-flop on the issue, which may cause much more consequential difficulties in the United State’s political future.